Managin Client Demands / Requests

Diceicle

I have a potential client web design services that I am in the process of signing up to a re-design of their current site.
I have met them twice to discuss the project - once pre-proposal and one post-proposal.
The proposal has been accepted in principle and a signed copy is due back shortly.
No deposit for retention of services has been paid yet.

Clients have requested another 1 hour meeting this week.
How can I politely tell them no?

daymobrew

Why would you say no?
Can you bill them for it?

Diceicle

Thanks for the reply.
This freelance work i'm doing is a side-gig, so my available time is scarce - after work, lunch-time etc.
My reason for wanting to say no is that I have already had 2 meetings to get the project scope - and this meeting is rather pointless as if they provide me new information or broaden the scope then we're back to a revised proposal situation.
I'm going ahead with this meeting but will have to think of a way to avoid future (pointless) update meetings - suggestions welcome.

Does anyone else bill by the hour for face to face once project is on the go?

daymobrew

I keep a timesheet for all my work on a project. A phone call or meeting gets added.

devildriver

Diceicle wrote: »

I have a potential client web design services that I am in the process of signing up to a re-design of their current site.
I have met them twice to discuss the project - once pre-proposal and one post-proposal.
The proposal has been accepted in principle and a signed copy is due back shortly.
No deposit for retention of services has been paid yet.

Clients have requested another 1 hour meeting this week.
How can I politely tell them no?

If they haven't paid a deposit yet then they are not a client. With that said they may have a genuine need for a meeting, you need to assess is it worth spending another few hours of your time for the amount you stand to make on the project. You can always ask for them to meet you somewhere that suits YOU rather than them and cut down on wasted travel time.

Personally for three meetings I would expect the project to be worth a few thousand.

Trojan

You need to qualify prospective clients before meeting. Over the years I've refined how I do this - now I do an initial short (15 minute) phone call to get an idea of the client and project suitability, then I give them a questionnaire which includes a budget question. Sometimes I do the questionnaire over the phone with them, but it takes a while. After reading the questionnaire I'll know if I'm a good match for their project needs. If they avoid the budget question (which about 50% do in my experience) that's a warning sign so I address that immediately with a ballpark range in the next call and ask if that sounds like what they were thinking of.